» ABV

See 'Alcohol By Volume'

» Age

The age stated on a whisky bottle is that of the youngest whisky in the blend.

» Ageing

Whisky is aged (matured) in oak casks: once it is bottled no further ageing takes place.

» Alcohol By Volume

The alcohol content of a whisky expressed as a proportion of the total volume of liquid.

» Amylase

The enzyme that converts starch into maltose in the mash tun.

» Angel's Share

A certain amount of whisky stored in barrels evaporates through the wood: this is known as the angel's share. Roughly 2% of each barrel is lost this way each year, most of which is alcohol.

» Aquavitae

The Latin for "water of life".

» Backset

In North American whiskeys, alcohol-free liquid in the bottom of the still after distillation (see Thin Stillage) is added to the mash tun and fermenter to ward off bacterial contamination. Sometimes referred to as sour mash, stillage, spent beer, or setback.

» Ball Of Malt

A glass of whisky in Ireland.

» Barley

The only cereal grain used to produce malt whisky.

» Beading

A rough method used to tell the alcoholic strength of a whisky. When a bottle is shaken, bubbles or beads will form. The bigger they are and the longer they last, the greater the alcoholic strength of the spirit.

» Beer

Also known as wash, this is the alcoholic liquid that goes into the still.

» Beer Still

Also known as wash still. This is the first still used in the distillation process.

» Blended/Blending

See Types of Whisky. Blended whiskies are a mix of grain whisky with malt (or bourbon or rye according to the country of origin).

» Bond

Whisky is held in bonded warehouses until excise duty has been paid.

» Bothie

A small house in the Scottish Highlands, sometimes used for making illicit whisky.

» Bottled In Bond

North American whisk(e)y, usually bourbon, bottled after four years in the cask, at 50% abv or more. In the UK all whisky is bottled in bond - meaning before excise duty has been paid.

» Bourbon

American whisk(e)y that is produced from a mash of not less than 51% corn grain, distilled to a maximum 80% abv (160° American proof) and put into charred new oak barrels at a strength of no more than 62.5% abv. Bourbon casks are new oak barrels, charcoaled on the inside before use to impart flavour to the maturing spirit.

» Brewing

The process of mashing grain in hot water and fermenting the result with yeast to produce wash or beer.

» Cask Strength

The strength at which the whisky comes out of the cask after maturation. This can be variable according to the age of the whisky. It is not defined by law but some companies use the term to describe whiskies which are stronger than 40 or 43%.

» Casks

Constructed of oak, casks used for whisky maturation come in a variety of sizes. Usually casks are second fill or third fill - first fill (new, unused wood) are seldom used. Ex-Bourbon casks made from American oak and ex-Sherry casks made from Spanish oak are often used because of the additional characteristics they give to the matured whisky.

» Charcoal Mellowing

Used for Tennessee whisk(e)y. The new spirit is filtered through charcoal before going into cask. Also known as mellowing, leaching or the Lincoln County Process. Some may be filtered again after cask ageing but before bottling.

» Charring

The inside surfaces of new American barrels are exposed to flames as part of the barrel-making process. This releases vanilla from the wood which sweetens the whisky and the char itself helps remove off-notes. It does not however add colour.

» Chill Filtration

Whisky is often chilled before bottling to remove fatty acids which would otherwise cause hazing if the whisky were stored at low temperatures.

» Coffey Still

(Continuous Still/Column Still) Invented around 1830 but patented by Aeneas Coffey, this still produces high strength, very pure alcohol from a variety of cereals by a continuous process. This spirit contains less Fusel Oil than pot still whisky.

» Congeners

Chemical compounds produced during fermentation and maturation. Congeners include esters, acids, aldehydes and higher alcohols. Strictly speaking they are impurities, but they give flavour.

» Corn Whisk(e)y

An American term for a whisk(e)y made from a mash containing at least 80% corn and, if it is aged at all, must be done in used or un-charred oak barrels.

» Couch

After barley has been soaked in water in the steep to make it germinate it is put into a second tank (the couch) to dry. This stops any further growth.

» Cut

The middle portion of the spirit coming off the spirit still. The cut is the best part of the distillate and is saved and put into barrel(s). The foreshots and feints are re-distilled.

» Cytase

An enzyme in barley that breaks down the cell walls, thus making the starch accessible.

» Demisting Point

The point at which spirit coming off the spirit still no longer goes cloudy when water is added. It is the point at which the cut begins.

» Distillation

The vaporisation of an alcoholic liquid by heat, followed by the collection by condensation of it's alcohol content.

» Distiller's Beer

The fermented mash that is transferred from the fermenter to the beer still for the first distillation

» Dona Tub

A vessel in which jug yeast is grown to produce enough yeast to ferment a whole batch of mash. Pronounced 'doe-nah'.

» Doubler

A large copper still which looks somewhat like a small water tank with an upturned funnel on top, used to distill high wines or new spirit from low wines.

» Doublings

The spirit produced by a secondary distillation. Often referred to as high wines.

» Draff

In Scotland, this is what is left of the grain after mashing. It is used for animal food.

» Dram

A Gaelic term commonly referring to a large glass of whisk(e)y!

» Drum Maltings

This is where malting is carried out in large drums that turn the grain mechanically.

» Enzymes

Compounds in grain produced during germination. See 'Amylase' and 'Cytase'.

» Ethanol

The primary alcohol produced during the fermentation of the yeast, water and cereal in whisky production.

» Feints

Also known as tails, or after-shots. The final spirit from the spirit still at the end of distillation. The feints are high in undesirable congeners and low in alcohol, and are re-distilled.

» Fermenter

The vessel in which the mash is fermented into alcoholic liquid or wash.

» Fillings

Malt or grain whiskies which will be used in a blend.

» Floor Maltings

Floor maltings have been largely replaced by mechanical maltings (Saladin boxes, drum maltings or SGKVs - steep, germinate and kilning vessels).

» Foreshots

Also known as heads. The first spirit to come off the spirit still. The foreshots are high in alcohol (75-80 % abv), contain too many volatile compounds and are re-distilled.

» Gauger

Once a name given to an exciseman.

» Grain

The seeds of a cereal crop such as maize, corn, rye, wheat, barley, etc.

» Grain Whisky

(See Types of Whisky) Whisky distilled from wheat or maize in a continuous still.

» Green Malt

Barley that has started to germinate and has not yet been dried.

» Grist

Malted barley which has been ground in a mill.

» Heads

See 'Foreshots'.

» High Wines

The product of the first distillation in a batch or pot still process. The high wines are distilled for a second time in the spirit still, or doubler. In the UK the product of the first distillation is known as low wines.

» Hopped Yeast Mash

The mash flavoured by cooked hops in which the yeast is propagated.

» Irish Malt Whisk(e)y

Produced in the same way as Scotch malt whisky except the majority is triple-distilled.

» Jigger

US spirit measure of 1.5 fl.oz. Also an old name for an illicit distillery.

» Kieve

In Ireland, the old name given to the mash tun.

» Kilning

In malting, the process of arresting the growth of the germinating barley before starch can be used up.

» Leaching

See 'Charcoal Mellowing'

» Lincoln County Process

See 'Charcoal Mellowing'. The filtration of Tennessee whisk(e)y before it is aged, through a minimum of 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal. Sometimes referred to as mellowing or leaching.

» Liquor

Hot water used in mashing.

» Lomond Still

An unusually squat pot still, first used at the Lomond Distillery. It produces oilier, heavier spirit.

» Low Wines

The spirit to come off the wash still. Its strength is usually about 21% abv.

» Lyne Arm

Found in a pot still, the lyne arm runs from the head of the still through to the condenser.

» Malt

Any grain which has been made to germinate, and then been dried to arrest growth.

» Malt Whisky

Whisky that's made purely from malted barley.

» Malting

The controlled germination and drying of grain.

» Maltings

The building used for the production of malt.

» Marrying

The process in which blended whisky is left in large containers after blending but before bottling.

» Mash

Liquid composed of grist mixed with boiling water. This extracts soluble starch, which is converted into maltose by the enzyme amylase. The liquid that is drained from the mash tun and fermented is called the worts.

» Mash Bill

The grain recipe used to make whisky.

» Mash Tun

Also known as mash tub. This is the vessel in which mashing takes place.

» Maturation

The time the whisky spends in the cask. During this time, which by law must be at least 3 years - but is usually between 8 years and 25 years, the whisky changes from the clear, fiery raw spirit into a mellow malt whisky of a colour varying from the palest yellow to the deepest amber.

» Mingling

The process in which straight whiskies from a number of barrels are mixed together in order to achieve a consistent style of straight whisky.

» New-make Spirit

Spirit which has not been matured. In Scotland whisky is only called Scotch when it has matured for 3 years.

» Nose

Refers to the aroma and bouquet of whisky.

» Organic Whisky

Following the current popular trends in food and drink, this is whisky made from barley grown in ground free from inorganic fertilizers and treated with non-chemical pesticides.

» Pagoda Roof

A style of roof on a malt kiln invented by Charles Doig, architect in the 1880's. It has been copied by many malt whisky distillers.

» Patent Still

A device for the distillation of whisky from grain. Two column stills are used, known as the analyser and the rectifier, and the process runs continuously. It was originally invented by Robert Stein and updated to the twin-column design by Aeneas Coffey, a former Inspector-General of Excise in Ireland.

» Peat

Partially carbonised vegetable tissue similar to compacted compost. The dried, cut peat is burned beneath the vented malting floors on which the malted barley dries. Different types of plant life, in the different regions and districts, create different types of peat which impart, in turn, different flavours and character to the finished whisky.

» Peated Malt

Malt which has been partially dried over a peat fire.

» Pot Ale

Also known as burnt ale or spent wash. High-protein residue from a still, it can be mixed with draff to make animal feed.

» Pot Still

Stills used for batch distillation. In pot still distillation the liquid is distilled usually twice, sometimes three times, first in a wash still and then in a spirit still.

» Premalt

The process by which malt is added to grist before cooking.

» Rackhouse

The building in which whisky is aged, sometimes referred to as the warehouse.

» Red Layer

A layer of caramelised wood sugars that is formed when barrels are 'toasted' and charred.

» Reflux

Alcoholic vapour which rises up the neck of the still, then falls back before it enters the condenser, to be redistilled. Still designs increase or decrease reflux.

» Ricks

American term for the wooden structures on which barrels of whisky rest during ageing. They are also the tall stacks of sugar maple wooden planks that are burned to produce the charcoal through which Tennessee whisk(e)y is filtered.

» Rummager

In coal-fired pot stills, a mechanism that stirs up the liquid in the still to prevent solids sticking to the bottom.

» Run

The spirit coming off a still.

» Rye Whisk(e)y

(See Types of Whisky) Whisk(e)y made from at least 51% rye. Production is similar to that of Bourbon.

» Saladin Box

The vessel in which barley germinates while being mechanically turned.

» Silent Season

A period in summer of around four to six weeks when the quality of the water supply can drop during the warmer weather and distilleries usually close down.

» Single Barrel Whisk(e)y

(See Types of Whisky) American whisk(e)y which is bottled from a single case and made at a single distillery.

» Single Malt Whisky

(See Types of Whisky) Malt whisky from a single malt whisky distillery.

» Singlings

An old moonshiner word for low wines.

» Small Batch Whisky

A product of mingling select barrels of whisky that have matured into a specific style.

» Small Grains

Cereal used in the making of rye, Bourbon or Tennessee whisk(e)y that has grains smaller than those of corn (maize).

» Sour Mash Whisk(e)y

Bourbon or Tennessee whisk(e)y made using at least 25% backset, soured yeast mash and a fermentation period of at least 72 hours.

» Sour Yeast Mash

A mash, usually of corn or rye, which is 'soured' overnight, or to which lactic bacteria is added before yeast is cultivated therein.

» Spent Beer

See 'Stillage'.

» Spirit Safe

A glass-fronted box through which spirit passes as it comes off the still.

» Steep

The vessel in which barley is steeped in cold water to begin germination.

» Stillage

In North America, the residue at the bottom of a still after fermentation, containing solids but no alcohol.

» Sweet Mash

In North America, mash containing no backset.

» Tails

See 'Feints'.

» Thin Stillage

Stillage with the solids removed.

» Thumper

A doubler containing water through which low wine vapours are bubbled to produce high wines.

» Top Dressings

A high quality malt which is used to give a blend extra depth and extra character.

» Triple Distillation

Traditionally a Lowland method, triple distillation is simply another stage of distillation added to the normal double distillation process common throughout Scotland. Most Irish malt whisk(e)y is produced by triple distillation.

» Uisge Beatha

Gaelic for 'water of life'. Over time this has been abbreviated and corrupted to 'whisk(e)y'.

» Vatted Malt

Malt whisky blended from several distilleries. Vatted malts contain no grain whisky.

» Vatting

This is the process of mixing either malt or grain whiskies from differing distilleries.

» Wash

The alcoholic liquid that is distilled to make whisky.

» Wash Back

In Scotland, the vessel in which the worts are fermented.

» Wash Still

In pot still distillation, this is the first still. The products of the still are termed low wines.

» Wheated Bourbon

Describes Bourbon that is made from a mashbill that contains wheat instead of rye grain.

» Worm

The coiled copper tube along which vapours condense in a still.

» Worm Tub

The original form of condenser in which the alcoholic vapours condense while passing down a coiled copper tube, sunk in a tub of cold water and located outside the still house. Only 12 distilleries still have worm tubs.

» Worts

The liquid, high in fermentable starches, that is drained off the mash tun and enters the wash back for fermentation.

» Yeast Mash

When jug yeast is grown in dona tubs, cooked grains (yeast mash) are used as the growing medium. It may be 'sweet' or 'sour'. Adding hops to this process produces a 'hopped yeast mash' which isn't usually soured.